KLPGA: 2016 Kia Korea Women's Open (MAJOR)

The landscapes around this golf course are butt ugly...clusters of office towers, either completed or under construction.  I assume this golf club is a refuge for the big shots in the those buildings who want to play hooky during the week.

Fascinating leaderboard...this one is up for grabs, as Frankenstein (SH Park) hasn't asserted herself (yet)...two ex-LPGAers near the top (Shi Hyun Ahn & Jin Joo Hong).  Also, ex-JLPGAer Yeon Ju Jung is playing crazy good after doing nothing on the KLPGA this year...nice stylish swing, reminds me a little of NYC.  I'm taking a nap now and will get up to see how this finishes later.

Just had a thought...the caddies for Yeon Ju Jung and So Yi Kim are pulling handcarts that are different brands/models.  Are they personal property of the caddies?  Or are they property of the golf club?  It would seem odd that they would have more than one brand of pullcart...and I would have expected to pushcarts, which are easier to maneuver.

Han Sol Ji is easy on the eyes, but has totally collapsed...they showed her early, but no more...Song Yi Ahn is another one who dropped the ball on the front nine.

Final leaderboard?

Glad to see Shi Hyun Ahn win.
She was one of my favorites along with Mi Hyun Kim early in her LPGA career.

I was not too fond of what went on between them.
Especially since most people put most  of the blame on Shi Hyun Ahn. 

Round 4

Shi Hyun Ahn's win is such an amazing, out of left field triumph that it makes what Sharon did last year at the KLPGA Championship look entirely expected.

Her story is a sad one. For those who don't know, a few years ago, while playing on the KLPGA tour, her LPGA career having come to an end, she attracted the attention of a popular model/TV host named Marco. He would follow her around at tournaments, tipping the fans off that there were a romance brewing between the two  (Marco, a Korean from South America, has only one name). They ended up in a passionate relationship, got married and had a child. Then it was alleged that Marco was abusing her; police were called on at least one occasion and he was questioned for five hours (she later claimed it was not abuse and was blown out of proportion). Whatever the truth was, they got divorced, and Ahn, who had not played golf for two years, suddenly had to support a daughter.

She returned to KLPGA action on a sponsor's invite and made a top ten. That convinced her to return to the KLPGA full time. She found some sponsors and has made a decent living, but was not coming too close to winning. Until this week, when she somehow found it in herself to not only win the biggest event on the Korean tour, but to hold off the biggest star on that tour in the final round.

This is a huge story in Korea. I counted at least four separate stories about Ahn on the golf page I go to, and their search engine had her as the top search for a while as well.


Shi Hyun Ahn

Victory again after 12 long years













Tears







Trophy







Yup, JJ and Mi Hyun Kim (dig her new 'do!)



Sung Hyun Park





Ju Young Park



Char Young Kim





Chae Young Yoon





Min Sun Kim



Song Yi Ahn



So Yi Kim



Yeon Ju Jung



Yoon Kyung Heo





Rookie Won Ju Jang



Shin Ae Ahn

I can no longer remember.  Maybe there was no bad blood.  I just remember Ahn left greens while Se Ri was still putting a few times in a way that seemed to be poor sportsmanship.

Very impressive indeed.  Good to see the old timers win again.